Sometimes it's tough to get a valuable, accurate read on long-term reliability and quality when it comes to new cars. But how often a certain manufacturer issues recalls is, at the very least, a good place to start.
Recalls are when an automaker discovers safety-impacting defects with cars already sold and instructs owners to bring them back to a dealership to have them corrected, usually free of charge. As we leave 2025 behind, we thought it’d be interesting to round up which automakers had the most recalls throughout the year, compiled using official data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
It should be noted that not all recalls are created equal. Catastrophic engine failure is not the same thing as, say, loose interior trim. But we’ve done our best to highlight what faults the biggest recalls actually addressed for each manufacturer to better contextualize the stats. Spoiler alert: it’s mostly failed backup cameras and various ways cars can catch fire.
Ranked by the total number of vehicles affected, here are the 10 most recalled car brands of 2025.
10. BMW: 508,338 Cars Recalled
- 21 Recalls
Compared to last year, 2025 was actually a big improvement on the recall front for BMW. The German automaker issued 21 recalls on 508,338 cars, putting it at a respectable 10th on this list. For reference, 2024 saw more than 1.8 million Bimmers recalled across 36 issues.
That’s not to minimize the faults the brand had to correct this year, though, especially if you own one of the 200,000 cars with engine starters that may corrode, overheat, and potentially catch fire. Does the dual nature of the kidney grille help dissipate fires? One would hope.
9. Volkswagen Group: 663,663 Cars Recalled
- 25 Recalls
Also logging a significantly lower number of recalls this year compared to last year is the Volkswagen Group, with 663,663 cars affected over 25 campaigns. For reference, 2024 saw a little over a million recalled VWs. The German giant’s two most widespread issues in 2025 were loose engine covers that "may melt and cause fire" and rearview camera images that may be distorted.
Both campaigns affect 170,000-plus 2024-2025 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport SUVs. It’s almost as if a brand widely and primarily known for small cars isn’t all that practiced at making big ones.
8. Tesla: 745,075 Cars Recalled
- 11 Recalls
If we were to give a most improved award, however, it’d probably go to Tesla. The American EV maker was the recall king back in 2024 with more than 5 million cars needing a fix, but that number shrank to just 745,075 in 2025.
The EV maker’s biggest campaign this year had to do with the power steering systems in 376,000 Model 3s and Model Ys that can lose power. Its second biggest issue: 239,000 rearview cameras with computer circuit boards that may short, failing to deliver an image. At least those things can "drive themselves," right? Right?
7. Kia: 982,346 Cars Recalled
- 13 Recalls
Kia improved on its recall rate somewhat in 2025, logging 982,346 cars that needed fixing compared to 1.2 million last year. This company issued 13 different issues this year with fairly even "affected car" counts, but the biggest one had to do with 250,000 K5 sedans from model years 2021 to 2024.
Check valves can apparently let air into the fuel tank, causing it to expand, melt, and pose a fire risk. It’s no secret that Kia used BMW as a benchmark when it comes to the K5, but perhaps this is the part where it should’ve stopped copying homework.
6. General Motors: 998,260 Cars Recalled
- 27 Recalls
Coming in sixth, General Motors just managed to avoid joining the "million recalled cars" club in 2025, with 998,260 vehicles on its ledger. While other OEMs collected recalls from a variety of defects, the bulk of GM’s pain this year stemmed from the infamous 6.2-liter L87 V-8 recall.
This issue saw almost 600,000 Cadillac Escalades, Chevy Silverados, Suburbans, Tahoes, GMC Sierras, and Yukons brought back in over "connecting rods and/or crankshaft engine components" with manufacturing defects that could lead to catastrophic engine failure—or, as I like to call it in this instance, Grenaded Motors.
5. Hyundai: 1.0 Million Cars Recalled
- 21 Recalls
Hyundai renews its "Million RCs" club membership this year with 1,078,212 vehicles recalled across 21 campaigns. (It did 1.1 million last year over 25 different issues.) Over half of those consisted of 2020-2025 model year Palisade SUVs with seat belt buckles that "may fail to latch."
Interestingly, a remedy customers were advised of before getting the official fix was to "insert the belt firmly into the buckle with a quick and direct motion." So I guess it’s a bit like kicking down a door or poking a boba straw through the plastic without making a mess: if you hesitate, it won’t work.
4. Honda: 1.5 Million Cars Recalled
- 21 Recalls
Honda’s 1,560,813 recalled cars in 2025 may look bad (and it’s not great!), but it’s actually on a multi-year trajectory of improvement. That number was 3.7 million in 2024 and 6.3 million in 2023.
The Japanese company logged 21 different issues this year, but the one that affected the most cars may also be the most cartoonish. Thanks to a "manufacturing error," more than 400,000 Civics from 2016 to 2021 use an 18-inch wheel that could fall off. The Honda Civic is historically very much one of those cars people habitually "drive until the wheels fall off." But, y’know, not like this.
3. Stellantis: 2.7 Million Cars Recalled
- 53 Recalls
With 2,776,952 cars recalled in 2025 across 53 issues, Stellantis comes in as the third most recalled carmaker in 2025. If this list were ranked by number of campaigns, by the way, it’d come in second. Believe it or not, this is still an improvement over 2024, when the conglomerate encompassing Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo recalled a whopping 4.8 million vehicles for 72 different reasons.
This year, 10 different defects broke the six-figure mark in terms of cars affected, but the most widespread one involved 320,000 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrids with batteries that may "fail and cause a fire." It’s great that you can now get electrified Jeeps that burn less fuel, but I’m not sure one can claim environmental superiority if they’re ablaze on the side of the highway.
2. Toyota: 3.2 Million Cars Recalled
- 15 Recalls
Coming in second place with more than 3.2 million cars recalled across 15 defects is Toyota. On those numbers, this is a regression from 2024 when the Japanese giant recalled 1.2 million vehicles across 16 campaigns.
However, don’t question Toyota’s reputation for reliability just yet because the recalls that contributed most to its tally in 2025 were relatively minor issues. A little over a million backup cameras were recalled because they might black out, almost 600,000 instrument panels could fail, and 440,000 Tundra reverse lights may not work due to moisture. No widespread fire risks, no seat belts that don’t buckle, no detaching wheels. Just a bunch of little things that have really, really added up.
1. Ford: 12.9 Million Cars Recalled
- 153 Recalls
The big recall loser in 2025, however, is Ford by a country mile, recalling a remarkable 12.9 million vehicles this year across 153 different issues. Ford bests (worsts?) Toyota’s runner-up car count by more than four times, and Stellantis’ second-place campaign count by almost three times.
In fairness, about 4 million out of the 12.9 million Fords recalled have to do with potentially faulty backup cameras (this really is a consistent problem child, eh?). But the most prolific sub-million-car-affected issues were failing low-pressure fuel pumps, cracked fuel injectors creating a fire risk, rupturing rear brake hoses, and, get this, Explorer B-pillar door trim pieces that may fall off.
The official fix for that last one involves dealer techs removing the piece and putting it back on with adhesive. But given the sheer amount of resources Ford has surely had to spend on recalls this year, I half expected the NHTSA-listed remedy to involve duct tape.
Most Recalled Car Brands of 2025
- Ford: 12.9 Million Cars Recalled
- Toyota: 3.2 Million Cars Recalled
- Stellantis: 2.7 Million Cars Recalled
- Honda: 1.5 Million Cars Recalled
- Hyundai: 1.0 Million Cars Recalled
- General Motors: 998,260 Cars Recalled
- Kia: 982,346 Cars Recalled
- Tesla: 745,075 Cars Recalled
- Volkswagen Group: 663,663 Cars Recalled
- BMW: 508,338 Cars Recalled
